Saturday, January 19, 2008

A Griffin, a Lion, and a Something-Or-Other

These were my blocks as of this morning. Just playing with another setting, but I think I'm going to do my previous layout - Barn Raising - instead. Now if I were Bonnie I'd just be sewing these together as I get enough of them made- that's one of the reason's she's so speedy. But I like to putter and play and rearrange.

I only got four more blocks completed today, but still tons more to come - they'll be getting done quicker now because I'm not doing any new starts.

Just to have something different to post, a friend sent me pictures from Geneva, Switzerland, knowing my love for this kind of statuary. Gorgeous griffin:

A winged lion with eagles' talons - don't know if that still counts as a griffin. And look at the neck - that looks rather dragonlike (or stegosaurian).

A lion, very majestic:

Weather here continues to be icky. This isn't making Tonya happy.

On a completely different note, I wanted to share part of an email I received from Amy. With her permission:

"I got into quilting a couple of years ago because I wanted to finish my great-grandmother's unfinished quilts. I was getting ready to put the binding on the first one and was stressing about squaring it up beforehand. So I googled "squaring up a quilt" and was led right to your post saying that you don't bother. I loved that, beaten up by the "quilt police" as I was allowing myself to be at the time. My instinct told me, "Who gives a $%^ about squaring it up? I'm making this to please MYSELF." But it was nice to have your validation. And I didn't square it up, AND it was fine! :-) "

Me again. Unfortunately Amy doesn't have a digital camera so we don't get to see a pic.

See, it's okay to be low-stress and casual about your quilting. It will all work out. In general you want the quilt to hold together and not fall apart after the first wash (or several), but other than that, it just doesn't matter. Put your heart into it, that's what counts.

15 comments:

And sometimes it's amazing how well something that the "quilt police" say shouldn't hold together does. Some of the quilts I"ve made for my daughter should not still be functional. They are. They get washed (boy do they ever)and they still look great!

Love those statues! Hope the weather gets better for you soon. We've got plenty of sunshine here -- but, um, you don't want to go out in it!

My opinion is that quilting should be fun so if you love precision stuff, be all means do that but if you love wonky then go that way. We are all different and neither way is better or worse, just different.

Your sense of color is wonderful and I so enjoy seeing your photography. I feel like I am visiting Paris with each photo. Thank you!! I like the barn raising setting also. Also, no matter how hard one can try to square up a quilt, it's not worth the trouble - it may never square up and who knows (unless you plan on entering into competition). Enjoy the beauty of your work and start another one!

I'm with you, I want to play and play with layouts with log cabin. It is amazing how different fabrics and contrast look better in some layouts than others. You are really brave to work with such narrow strips.

Love the statues! Looks like either they are having nicer weather, or she took those in the summer. The log cabin blocks are great - I like any way it can be arranged, from a star to this one. It always looks wonderful, no matter what one does.

There is no such thing as a right way and a wrong way when it comes to quilting. If it is pleasing to the eye, the colors are good. If it lays flat, it is 'square'. If it makes you or someone else happy, it is a masterpiece.

The very first quilt I made (1961) was a log cabin and I used that very layout. It was hand pieced and machine quilted. We used that quilt until it was very raggedy. After it was too torn to use at the beach, my son put it in his car trunk to use if he ever had a flat tire. As luck would have it, he was the first person to arrive at an accident and he used the quilt to cover the injured person and protect him from going into shock, until the ambulance arrived. A glorious end to that quilt.

I love the colors in your log cabin blocks. Can I say I really like the setting in this post better than the barn raising? The reason is, the setting makes the colors look more transparent, or layered, or something. I can't really explain it other than to say I like the dark and lighter "square" interplay.

About Me

I live in Florida with my seven cats and my husband. I've been a quilter since 1987 and consider my style liberated and non-traditional traditional (think Gwen Marston, Gee's Bend, and string quilts) and I watch way too much tv while sewing and hand-quilting.